Banat is an ethnically mixed historic region of eastern Europe; it is
bounded by Transylvania and Walachia in the east, by the Tisza River in
the west, by the Mures River in the north, and by the Danube River in
the south. In the mid-16th century Banat was conquered by the Ottoman
Turks, who retained it until 1718, when Austria acquired it (Treaty of
Passarowitz). Under Austrian military rule, the region was organized as
the Temeser Banat (or Banat of Temesvr). Later a civil administration
took control of the northern part of the area, and the Austrian rulers
encouraged the settlement of colonists from the Rhineland, Lorraine,
and Luxembourg. For most of the period from 1779 to 1920, the Banat was
attached to Hungary. After World War I, the victorious Allies divided
it by the Treaty of Trianon (June 4, 1920). Hungary retained the
district of Szeged, Romania acquired the large eastern section, and the
remainder went to Yugoslavia.
The name banat has its origin in a Persian
word meaning lord, or master, and was introduced into Europe by the Avars; it came to mean a frontier
province or a district under military governorship.
|